Tuomarien kirjaLuku 19

Tämä luku ei ole vielä saatavilla suomeksi — näytetään alkuperäinen teksti.

+ Toissijainen teksti Alkuteksti ← Edellinen Seuraava →Osallistu

In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite living in the remote hill country of Ephraim took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.

But his concubine was unfaithful to him and left him for her father's house in Bethlehem of Judah, and she stayed there four whole months.

Then her husband set out after her to speak tenderly to her and bring her back. He had his servant with him and a pair of donkeys. She brought him into her father's house, and when the young woman's father saw him, he welcomed him gladly.

His father-in-law, the young woman's father, pressed him to stay, so he remained with him three days; they ate and drank and spent the nights there.

On the fourth day they rose early in the morning, and the man got up to go. But the young woman's father said to his son-in-law, "Have a bite of bread to strengthen yourself, and then you can go."

So the two of them sat down and ate and drank together. Then the young woman's father said to the man, "Please, stay the night and enjoy yourself."

When the man got up to leave, his father-in-law urged him again, so he stayed the night there.

He rose early on the fifth morning to go, but the young woman's father said, "Strengthen yourself first, and wait until the day declines." So the two of them ate.

Then the man got up to go, he and his concubine and his servant, but his father-in-law, the young woman's father, said to him, "Look, the day is fading toward evening. Stay the night. See, the day is nearly over. Spend the night here and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow you can rise early for your journey and go home."

But the man would not stay the night. He got up and left, and came to a point opposite Jebus—that is, Jerusalem—with his pair of saddled donkeys and his concubine.

As they neared Jebus, the day was almost gone, and the servant said to his master, "Come, let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites and spend the night there."

But his master said to him, "We will not turn aside into a foreign city where there are no Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah."

He said to his servant, "Come, let us reach one of these places and spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah."

So they went on their way, and the sun set on them as they came near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.

They turned aside there to spend the night in Gibeah. He went in and sat down in the city square, but no one took them into his house for the night.

Then an old man came in from his work in the field at evening. He was from the hill country of Ephraim and was living in Gibeah, though the men of the place were Benjaminites.

He looked up and saw the traveler in the city square, and the old man asked, "Where are you going, and where do you come from?"

He answered him, "We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote hill country of Ephraim. That is where I am from. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and now I am going to the house of the LORD,* but no one has taken me into his house. [*Footnote: Some ancient witnesses read "to my house."]

We have straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for myself, for your servant woman, and for the young man who is with your servants. We lack nothing."

"Peace to you," said the old man. "Let me take care of whatever you need—only do not spend the night in the square."

So he brought him into his house and fed the donkeys. Then they washed their feet and ate and drank.

While they were enjoying themselves, the men of the city—worthless men—surrounded the house, pounding on the door. They shouted to the old man who owned the house, "Bring out the man who came into your house, so we can have our way with him!"

The owner of the house went out to them and said, "No, my brothers, do not do such an evil thing. This man is a guest in my house; do not commit this outrage.

Here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out. Violate them and do to them whatever you please, but do not commit such an outrage against this man."

But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and pushed her out to them. They raped her and abused her all night until morning, and let her go as dawn was breaking.

At daybreak the woman came and collapsed at the door of the man's house where her master was, and lay there until it was light.

When her master got up in the morning and opened the doors of the house to go on his way, there lay his concubine at the doorway of the house, her hands on the threshold.

He said to her, "Get up, let us go," but there was no answer. So he put her on his donkey and set out for home.

When he reached his house, he took a knife, took hold of his concubine, cut her limb by limb into twelve pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel.

Everyone who saw it said, "Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day the Israelites came up out of the land of Egypt until this day. Think about it, take counsel, and speak!"

Haku

Yhteenveto2

Luku 19

Main Theme: The chapter illustrates the moral decay in Israel during the period of the judges through a horrific crime in Gibeah.

Content: A Levite from the hill country of Ephraim retrieves his concubine from Bethlehem after she had left him, and they stay with her father for several days. On their way home, they choose to spend the night in Gibeah in Benjamin rather than in the foreign city of Jebus. An old man takes them in, but during the night wicked men surround the house and demand that the Levite be handed over. Instead, his concubine is given to them and abused all night until she dies. The Levite then cuts her body into twelve pieces and sends them throughout Israel to stir the people to action.

Key Words/Images:

No king in Israel – This phrase opens the chapter and explains the moral anarchy that prevailed.
Gibeah – The city in Benjamin where the atrocity occurred, paralleling the account of Sodom.
Sons of Belial – A designation for the wicked men, showing their total moral collapse.
The twelve pieces – The Levite's drastic action to call Israel to confront sin.

Historiallinen konteksti

Historical and Cultural Context for Judges 19

People

The Levite from the Hill Country of Ephraim: This unnamed man belonged to the tribe of Levi, which held a special religious function in Israel. The Levites did not have their own tribal territory but lived scattered in cities throughout the land. That he resided "in the remotest parts" of the hill country of Ephraim suggests an isolated existence, underscoring the fragmented social structure of that period.

*The Concubine (פִּילֶגֶשׁ, pilegesh)*: A concubine had a lower legal status than a primary wife but was still an acknowledged part of the household. She had fewer rights regarding inheritance and bride-price. That she left her husband and returned to her father’s house, where she stayed for four months (v. 2), shows her attachment to her original family. Her fate illustrates women’s vulnerable position during this period.

Places

Bethlehem in Judah: The town from which the concubine came, located about 8 km south of Jerusalem. This city is mentioned several times in Judges (also in the story of Ruth) and held significance as a village within the territory of the tribe of Judah.

Jebus (Jerusalem): The text explains that Jebus "is Jerusalem" (v. 10), indicating that at this time the city was still inhabited by Jebusites and not under Israelite control. The Levite refused to stay there because it was "a foreign city" – a decision with tragic consequences.

Gibeah in Benjamin: A town north of Jerusalem within Benjaminite territory. That the town lay on Israelite soil makes the crime all the more shocking – evil came from Israelites, not from the "foreign" Jebusites the Levite had avoided.

Events and Customs

The Sacred Duty of Hospitality: This chapter illustrates both the importance of hospitality and its collapse. The father-in-law’s generous hospitality in Bethlehem (they stayed there for several days, vv. 4–9) stands in sharp contrast to Gibeah’s failure to receive them. That no one "took them into their house" (v. 15) was a serious breach of ancient Near Eastern norms. The old man’s warning "do not spend the night on the square" (v. 20) suggests awareness of the city’s dangers.

"Men of Belial" (בְּנֵי בְלִיַּעַל): This expression literally means "sons of worthlessness/destruction" and refers to lawless, wicked people. Their demand to "know" (יָדַע) the guest clearly carries sexual meaning, parallel to the story of Sodom in Genesis 19. The offer of women instead of the male guest reflects a tragic prioritization where hospitality toward men was considered more important than women’s safety.

Dismemberment and Sending Out the Body: The Levite’s act of cutting his concubine into twelve pieces and sending them to all the tribes of Israel was a dramatic call for united action. Similar practices are known from other Old Testament texts (1 Samuel 11:7, where Saul cut up oxen as a mobilization signal). The twelve pieces corresponded to the twelve tribes of Israel and constituted an unprecedented appeal for national response to a national shame.

Key Terms

"There was no king in Israel" (v. 1): This repeated phrase in Judges 17–21 explains the moral chaos of that period and points forward to the need for centralized leadership. The expression functions both as a historical description of the situation and as a theological assessment – without unifying authority, society deteriorated into lawlessness.

"Nebalah" (נְבָלָה) – "Shameful Deed" (vv. 23–24): This strong word denotes actions that fundamentally break with Israel’s social order and covenant with God. It is used for particularly serious sexual crimes and dishonor to one’s family (cf. Genesis 34:7; 2 Samuel 13:12). That such evil occurred among the Israelites themselves, and not among the Canaanites, intensifies the story’s shock.

Henkilöt

Tässä luvussa ei ole tunnettuja henkilöitä.

Avainsanat7

Levite — A man from the hill country of Ephraim who is the main character in the story and who takes in a guest and his companion.
Guest — A traveling man from Bethlehem seeking shelter for the night with his companion.
Companion — The guest's concubine who becomes the victim of a cruel act carried out by the men of Gibeah.
Gibeah — A city in the tribe of Benjamin where the events of chapter 19 take place.
Tribe of Benjamin — One of the twelve tribes of Israel that is strongly criticized and punished because of their evil and violent actions in this story.
Rape — A brutal and unacceptable sexual act committed by the men of Gibeah against the guest's companion.
Vengeance — The act of seeking justice and punishing those guilty for their wicked deeds, which leads to a bloody conflict between the tribes of Israel.